


Heat Waves

by KALL



Category: LEGO Monkie Kid
Genre: 3rd and 2nd degree burns mentioned, Amnesia, Angst with a Happy Ending, Blood mentioned, Hurt/Comfort, I keep it light though, I wrote about half of this in the span of 3 days, M/M, Mentions of Starvation, Spicynoodleshipping, Tags wil update as I go in case I forget anything, dark depressing thoughts, mentions of dehydration, no beta we die like clowns, nursed back to health
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-27
Updated: 2021-03-13
Packaged: 2021-03-18 14:54:44
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 12,497
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29735577
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KALL/pseuds/KALL
Summary: It was like looking at a scene of heatwaves on the road. MK could just barely grasp something that he thought was there but truly wasn’t. His vision wiggled as he strained to remember something foggy. The memories were there and then they weren’t. What did Red Son know that he didn't?MK keeps having flashes of memories he swears does not belong to him and they involve Red Son. Is MK forgetting something important? >:3
Relationships: Qi Xiaotian | MK & Red Son, Qi Xiaotian | MK/Red Son
Comments: 54
Kudos: 34





	1. Coast to Coast

**Author's Note:**

> This Story is entirely dedicated to my dear friend PenWoman. Whom I completely ignored in advice to finish one story before starting another one XD
> 
> I’m so sorry if I disappoint you ;w;

"And then I was like BLAMO! And then you were like KABAM! With your staff and they went spoooosshh!!!" Mei kicked and punched the air wildly ending with jazz hands that make MK chuckle at her antics, the monkey king staff hanging off his shoulders as they walked back from their latest battle of defending the city from Yaoguai. 

His muscles ached pleasantly from a good workout and he smiled at his best friend as they walked the city streets back to his apartment. 

"Hah! Yeah, it was totally awesome when they landed in that whirlpool at the docks. Makes me think of that time Red Son tripped into the public fountain" he laughed and Mei joined with him, leaning onto him with a wheeze 

"Omg that was SOOOooo funny I got pictures of it and you used it for a background on your phone for a week" she wheezed and he joined her laughing freely. He doesn't remember that and his phone screen currently has a character from a video game he was obsessed with. Mei was constantly changing the background to her phone and probably had a new one every few days, she also had this quirk of keeping track of others' phone backgrounds so he believed her. 

"Hold on, hold on. I still might have them." She scrambled for her phone to pull up the photos. She was scrolling for a bit past selfies, pictures of food, more selfies, a gallery of selfies, and so forth. 

"Wow, it's a lot further back than I remember" she comments passing at least her tenth photo of boba tea her brow furrowing the further they go back. MK rubs his chin thinking how far back she would have to scroll.  Now that MK thinks about it...when was the last time they fought Red Son? He asked himself, trying to recall the date of when he last faced off with the fire boy. Was it last week? No that was a different elemental demon. Two weeks? No, that was just Princess iron fan. 

"Ehhh too far back. I’ll have to send it to you later." Mei gives up with a shrug and pockets her phone as they reach the split in the road that they would have to head their separate ways home, they pause at the crossing as a tradition for them to exchange their super awesome handshake and a hug before departing from each other. 

“Same time tomorrow?” Mei asked, waving over her shoulder and MK returned it with a thumbs up. 

“Sure thing! That is if Pigsy lets me off early again.” they wave their farewells and MK begins the second part of his journey home alone. He sticks his staff behind his ear, shrinking it down to needle size before sticking his hands in his pocket. 

He wonders idly as he walks if they should be concerned that they haven't seen Red Son in awhile. Was he plotting something big? He kicks a stray pebble on the sidewalk as he ponders what the fire demon could be plotting. If he was doing something in secret he needs to be on his toes for any surprise attacks on the city. Perhaps he should squeeze in a few more training sessions with Monkey King just to be on the safe side. 

He's almost back to his apartment when he passes an alleyway that is notorious for stray cats. He sometimes tried to befriend them and on a few occasions brought a few injured ones to Sandy who surprisingly had medical knowledge and nursed quite a few back to health. Some even ended up living with him permanently. 

He pokes his head in to check to see if there are any alley cats to help today, a hero’s work never ceases. 

It's like the universe heard his thoughts because down in a heap of trash laid an unconscious Red Son. MK stumbles back landing on his butt and then quickly is on his feet again with his staff out and a fighting stance. 

Nothing happens for a few moments and he slowly approaches Red Son staff out. He nudges the demon's foot with his staff. the demon doesn't even stir and Mk relaxes a bit knowing he was truly out. He looks left and right trying to find a reason for Red Son to be passed out in garbage on a Tuesday evening.  When he found none he directed his attention back to Red Son. even in the dying light of the day he can see how bad of shape he truly is. His arms are scorched from the shoulder down and dried blood cakes his forehead where a nasty gash was. His clothes are torn and look like he went to battle against a tiger. 

He pokes Red Son again with his staff and the demon finally stirs with a pained groan. MK jumps back into a defensive position ready for a fight. Red Son’s eyes open fully and gare upward with the heat of a dying sun. 

A few awkward moments pass as they stare at each other only interrupted by the sound of a cat mewling in the background. When Red Son’s gaze finally lands on MK and seems to focus on him fully he scowls. 

"Of course it's you." He hisses out sounding like the crackling of a dying fire. 

"It's always  _ you _ . It will always be  _ you _ tormenting me." He sinks further into the trash bags looking to the sky as if his salvation awaited him In The clouds it was honestly concerning at. how defeated Red Son looked.

"Well, I'm not doing it anymore." He attempts to pull himself up, the garbage around him rustling and tin cans making breaks for it as he rises up. He barely makes it to his knees only able to grab MKs jacket tightly as a last-ditch effort to put himself on solid footing. 

Instead, he just hangs off MK's jacket, his back and legs limp and his head hangs back like a newborn without the strength to even hold his head up. 

"I'm done. I'm going to forget  _ you."  _ He growls teeth pearly white and his eyes unfocused and hazy words said through wheezing breaths. 

"You hear me?! I'm going to forget  _ you, _ noodle boy. I'll forget you and never have to think about you o-" and then his eyes rolled back into his head, his already limp body sagging further back as he passed out as a puppet with its strings cut, no longer there to perform for a crowd. 

MK’s footing becomes unbalanced at the new distributed weight and his arms windmill at his side before he catches himself against the wall, hunched over the newly passed out demon with a death grip on his jacket. 

MK examines Red Son, baffled at what the heck just happened. He looks over the distressed demon's face who looks pale and every breath seems labored. 

He's really hurt. 

It was weird seeing him like this. He always pictures his rival as unshakable. Even in their fights they never hurt each other to this extent. He pulled Red Son's grip off his jacket, peeling the fingers back gently and the body fell back the remaining three inches back into the garbage heap. 

At least that was the plan anyway, his death grip was so tight MK wondered if the only way to separate him and the demon was by destroying his limited edition Jacket. And if he did want to sacrifice that (which spoiler: he didn't). Was he really going to leave Red Son here in the garbage? He looked left and right, finding no one in sight. 

Sure no one was watching, but….

His gaze returned to the demon's unconscious face. 

Could he really leave Red Son here? He was the hero, wasn't he? Heros helped those in need, and right now it looked like Red Son needed him desperately. 

MK bites his lip before making a decision. He hefts Red Son up onto his shoulders carefully not to touch any of his burns. The demon whimpered in his unconscious state and MK can't help but mutter an apology under his breath. 

Maybe it was a bad idea bringing home the demon set on destroying you and your mentors legacy. But right now with Red Son's arms limply hanging over his neck it felt...oddly right. 

Now he just needed to sneak past Pigsy. 

A demon and hero trudged home and even while straining under the full weight of the unconscious teen MK felt the stare of something dark on his back. 

\---------------------------------------

"MK is that you?" Pigsy called out after what the pigman could only assume was the sound of a sack of potato's dropping to the floor.

"Y-yeah…." A guilty voice calls out from the stairs before a mop of a head peeks out from around the corner with a sheepish smile on his face. Half his body was hidden by the entranceway that led to his apartment over the shop.

"Your back is pretty late. And it sounded like you fell." He raises a brow as the teen avoids his gaze in every possible way and rubs the back of his neck while laughing. 

"Oh yeah, I tripped and dropped Red sooooottaff! Yeah, I stopped my red staff. Haha you know cause it's red" his jaw clicks shut and Pigsy squints in suspicion. 

"Okay...well be careful then. Don't want you hurting yourself" he wipes his hands on his short apron taking a few steps towards MK who leans to the left quickly blocking his view of the entranceway. 

"So um yeah, gonna go to bed now. Really tired goodnight Pigsy!" He dashes up the staircase quickly and Pigsy scratches the top of his head confused at the teen's antics. 

Whatever, he finished up closing the shop for the night anyways MK probably just brought home another stray. The cat would be discovered in three days. Then Sandy would get involved and fix everything. Mark his words that's exactly how it would go.


	2. Waterfalls coming out your mouth

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Waterfalls coming out your mouth  
> What the hell are we doing now?  
> Waterfalls tearing you apart  
> What hell are we doing now?
> 
> MK takes Red Son home and tends to his wounds. it goes as well as you expect it to go.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter warnings! 
> 
> 2nd degree and 3rd-degree burns. I keep it light not too much description about it but just a heads up in case that makes you uncomfy. 
> 
> blood also mentioned but its not graphic 
> 
> ALSO! as an added warning you should take someone to the hospital if they have severe burns. don't follow MK's actions thanks!

MK let out a sigh of relief, his chest heaving with the still pumping adrenaline for successfully avoiding Pigsy and sneaking a whole demon past him. 

"That was so close," he whispers to himself looking to his unconscious guest who would likely agree if they were awake….and not complaining about being dropped down a flight of stairs. 

Good thing Red Son was asleep during that. 

He hefts the still unconscious and newly bruised demon up off his floor and drags him to the bed. 

"Your way heavier than you look. HNG! What do you eat?" He grunted out, successfully managing to wrestle the dead weight onto the bed. Red Son fell face-first into the mattress, his feet dangling off the edge at a weird angle. 

Well, that didn't look comfortable. 

MK flips the yaoguai from his stomach onto his back to a much more comfortable position. There, marginally better. Next was to tend to Red Son's extensive wounds he had gained. MK took his first good look at them since the alleyway. 

Now in better lighting, he could see the extent of it. Red Son's hands all the way up to his arms and shoulders were burnt. The signature jacket that he was known for was nothing but a tattered mess, the sleeve burnt away long before the wounds set in, clearly unsalvageable. 

The rest of Red Son's body, from what he could see, was littered in minor cuts and bruising that would need attention and time to heal as well. MK bites his lip feeling way over his head right now. He wasn't a medic, only knowing some basic first aid for himself. 

But he had to try. He couldn't leave Red son like this, and it was probably better to tend to his wounds before he was fully awake and fully angry. First things first he needs to remove Red Son's clothes, they would be in the way and did him no good anyway. 

MK kneeled to the floor untying the laces to the demons' impressively tall boots, he also noted at this angle that there was a decent platform for them to give him added height. The hero couldn't help but snort at the idea of him trying to make himself look taller to be more imposing in battle. 

Removing the unnecessarily complex shoes he moved to the socks which slid off easily. Red Son shifted slightly causing him to freeze in place. The demon stirred, only making a pained noise in the back of his throat before settling back down. 

MK let out a breath he was holding, waiting a few more moments before continuing. He shimmies off Red Son’s pants, finding himself averting his gaze from the demons' colorful boxers of some animated turtle series. If he was getting anything out of this it was apparently blackmail.

Next came the jacket, it was pointless to keep it on in this state and would definitely hinder him in treating Red Son's wounds. But getting it off was the hard part. After struggling and tugging against the material gently so not to wake the sleeping beauty he discovered the only way to remove it was to kneel over Red Son, hovering over him on his bed. 

He tried not to let the image sink in as he carefully pushed red Son to one side, lifting his arm out of the jacket that quickly broke into brittle pieces. He then lifted the body upwards, letting Red Son rest against his chest limply, hung over his shoulders as he removed his shirt next. 

He could feel the hot breath of Red Son on his neck and it caused the hairs on the back of his neck to stand on end at the weird sensation. 

_ 'this is fine. Totally not weird at all to strip your nemesis in your room while he's unconscious' _

He thinks to himself, averting his gaze from his naked chest. He sets the demon back down, laying him gently on his back. He promised himself he was only staring at him because he was examining his wounds. 

Yes, totally professional hero work. He was totally not checking out Red Son's totally ripped chest littered with scars from past battles. No, he was not thinking it was sexy. Not him. No way.

He shakes his head back and forth snapping him out of his impure thoughts before crawling off his bed to get his first aid kit. He worked in a kitchen with Pigsy, so he knew what to do with a burn injury, but he had never been burned this bad before. 

It was second-degree burns at best, certain areas looking more like third-degree burns. He rubs the back of his neck wondering if he should even be attempting this. 

Ah well, he had worse ideas in the past. 

He removes his yellow jacket, tying it around his waist not wanting to get in the way while he works. First, Water. Clean his hands then the wounds. He wasn't sure if demons could get infections but he didn't want Red Son to be his test subject on the matter. 

Using his kitchenette area he washes his hands thoroughly and pats his hands dry. Then he fills a cereal bowl with cool water and brings it over to his patient. 

He sets the bowl and rag on the bedside table and sits on the edge of the bed. He presses the cool rag to Red Son's arms gently and even in his sleep the demon whimpers in pain, his brows right and his face scrunched up at his ministrations. 

"It's okay, you're safe. I got you." He cooes running down his arms gently cleaning the despite the nonverbal protest of the demons. 

It was weird, but Red Son seemed to calm at the sound of his voice, settling back down easily till he was nothing but a peaceful doll. MK cleans gently every inch of his visible skin. He takes great care of the gash on his forehead, cleaning away the crusted over blood till his face is clean. 

Honestly, Red Son also still smells like garbage. He really should give him a bath. Plus the cool water will do his burns some Good. It wasn’t a bad idea really, Red Son would get clean, any areas MK missed would get sanitized and he wouldn't have to worry about infection, and the cool water would feel good against the wounds. 

A good idea in concept. But how would he give the demon a bath? 

Mk steps back rubbing his chin thinking. Realy his only option was to run a shallow bath and just wrestle Red Son into it. Hopefully, the demon would stay unconscious through the whole process. He heads to his small bathroom to plug the tub. He runs the water and it sputters out of the faucet like a waterfall. He tested the water with his hand under the stream, checking to make sure it wasn’t hot or too cold. 

Something cool but not too cool. Once satisfied with the temperature he lets it run while his leg bounces nervously. The concept of Red Son being in his apartment finally fully hitting him. 

Red Son was in his apartment. 

Hurt.

And very naked. 

And he was about to give the hurt very naked demon a bath like he was just some stray cat he brought home. 

He runs his hands through his hair pulling at the roots while his leg bounces in place. Was he really doing this? Was this actually happening? The water falling from the faucet acting as the static in his brain and grounding him. 

He lets out a sigh and turns off the water. He didn't want it too deep, he probably was going to have to get into the tub with Red Son to make sure he didn't drown. He rolls up his jeans to a quarter length and removes his socks, then mentally pulled it together. 

Getting Red Son into the tub was….an interesting feat. He had to carry a whimpering naked demon across the room into his cramped bathroom and pretend it was totally normal and totally okay. He stepped into the tub and lowered Red Son into the water carefully. 

Red Son doesn't react other than letting out a small gasp and grasping the front of MK’s shirt in his sleep. It's honestly pitiful. 

The hero fully lowers Red Son into the bath, his boxers soaking up the water quickly. MK wanted to give him at least some sort of privacy and left them on. He’s sure if the demon was awake he would appreciate him preserving some of his dignity. Now with Red Son in the water, MK takes a clean rag and washes the demon's body, no soap, he didn't want to put chemicals on the healing skin. 

Red Son behaves himself, only whimpering slightly in his state but his eyes' never fluttered open or challenged MK to a fight so he was counting that as a win. 

Monkey king taught MK to be observant. He taught him to always be aware of his surroundings even when distracted. So when the hairs on the back of his neck stand up amidst his work and he spots a shadow in the corner of his eyes he acts immediately. In an impressive show of reflexes, he's out of the tub with a splash and retrieved his staff from behind his ear. 

Defensive stance ready and...

There is no one there. Just an empty door frame that showcased his empty apartment. He let out a sigh that he didn't know that he was holding in. He sits and waits a few more moments just to make sure he wasn't crazy. He must just be keyed up from having to sneak a demon back to the apartment. He eventually lowers his guard and puts away his staff but is still on edge. His attention back on to Red Son. 

At some point, Red Son's hair became loose from its high ponytail and MK removed the tie letting the hair relax the rest of the way. It's surprising, he expects the demon's hair to feel like fire against his hands, but instead, it's soft like silk. Sure it's warm to touch but he expected it to dance across his fingers like flames flickering, instead, it glided across his fingers like smoke. 

It's...nice, comforting in a familiar way that he can’t quite put a finger on. Like petting a dog or a cat while you relax. It's only when Red Son leans I to the touch that MK realizes he has been carding fingers through the demon's incredibly soft hair. He jerks his hand back mentally scolding himself for one: getting distracted and B: invading Red Son's space without permission.

MK drains the tub and pulls the demon out of it, he pats him dry with a towel and then decides he should re-dress his guest and get him out of his soaked underwear. That was gonna be ten times more awkward. 

MK through the trials of dressing a demon while refusing to look at them gave up halfway and just settled on giving the demon a pair of joggers that were a size too big for him. They were a bit short on the long legs of the demon but they covered his lower half and that was good enough for MK. 

After that he worked on bandaging his arms up, after cleaning the wounds and his bath it actually wasn't as bad as he thought, the soot and char from his jacket now cleaned away left mostly second-degree burns that could be easily managed if taken care of. 

He lightly wrapped his charred arms, keeping the bandages loose in case of swelling. He also tended to the scrapes and cuts littered across the demon's body. A box of bandaids later and everything that he can see had been treated. 

he covered the demon with a light blanket hiding his chest from view and thankfully out of his mind. He wipes his brow feeling worn out from all the work. 

Everything was going great. 

That is until he realized that he dropped the fireball of a demon down onto the only sleepable surface in his entire apartment. He puts his hands on his hips looking at Red Son taking up most of his bed. 

"Well poop."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> MK you thirsty boi, We see you admiring that fine demon


	3. Take A slice

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I'm the treasure, baby, I'm the prize  
> Cut me rails of that fresh cherry pie

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You'll probably be confused when you start reading this chapter. But I promise it's related. It doesn't look like it right now but it will be. If you read this and make it to the end I will give you a cookie

Li Hua pulled herself from the comfort of silk and slumber. The nice breeze from the window nipping at her skin and tempting her to bury deeper into her bedding. But her mother's scolding voice in the back of her head wouldn't allow it. she sighs, sad that she must rise for the day, a flower beautiful as she shouldn't be forced to wake so early. She moves out of her bed and steps into her silk slippers. 

At least she had something to look forward to today that made getting up at such god-awful hours worth it. She smiles with excitement, joy now pumping through her veins. Today was the play! The play that she would see with  Yingjie . A high-ranking member of the royal court blessed with strength and a fine face. A perfect candidate for marriage.  She flaunts to her vanity kneeling to it and runs a comb through her hair, combing out any tangles she got in the night. A pointless task because her hair was flawless. She hums as she combs out her hair in front of her copper mirror. 

Li hua admired her face. Pale and smooth as a river stone. Her lips were perfect and pink as cherry blossoms and she had been told before her cheekbones could challenge the beauty of the gods. And they were all right, anyone with eyes could see she was worthy of praise. She had suiters from wealthy families lined out the door looking for her hand in marriage. 

She would get countless offers for dates, but she would only accept if they suggested they would see a performance together. 

Apparently, that trick of how to win her favor spread because no one dared asked for her company unless they had tickets already in hand. Plays put on by talented performers and actors. Oh, how she adored the plays. She loved the costumes, the music, the delicious drama portrayed on the stage, and of course the masks.  She loved the way the masks could be put on, and actors could take on the form of a spirit or an animal. It was her favorite pastime. 

She went over to her massive wardrobe tapping her chin as she considered her options of clothes for today. What would  Yingjie prefer? Would he prefer she wear pink? No  Yingjie  was a serious person and probably would think her frivolous to do so. Green was more appropriate, to remind him of her family's wealth. 

She selects a hafu of light green color with jade-colored hand-painted flowers and embroidery with tiny jade beads. It cost her father a fortune but it had been worth it when men would swarm their home in hopes to just lay eyes on her. 

Her hand servant knocked and she allowed entry with a dismissal wave of her hand, they brought her breakfast that she would eat while they did her hair. Doing it up in complicated braids and folds interlocked with jeweled hairpins. 

The tray of her breakfast of tea and Baozi, and a sliced pear as a treat. she pokes at it with her chopsticks. She worked hard on keeping her figure slim so she kept her portions small and never finished her meals.

After her hair was adorned with matching jade headpins and jewelry that dripped from her ears delicately she rises to leave, her food for her servant to clean up, a good portion still left behind and would be thrown away. 

She rose like the empress she deserved to be. Given the chance, she could seduce the emperor himself with her beauty. She exits her room to attend her lessons for the day, head held high with pride and silk robes flowing behind her. 

Till she realizes she forgot the last accessory to finish her glamorous assemble. She needed her jade pendant, the one that matched her earrings and just tied her whole outfit together. She turned on her heels to retrieve it, opening the door to her room. There was her wide-eyed servant, her mouth full of the food she did not finish.

"What are you doing?" She shouts, stomping forward. She grabbed the arm of the servant, her talon-like nails digging into the flesh of the scrawny arm. She wrenches her away from her vanity and tosses her to the floor. 

"What are you doing?? Stealing from me?! How dare you!! Who do you think you are taking what's mine." she demanded an answer

"I'm s-sorry miss, you didn't finis-"

"And that gives you the right to take what is not yours?" She seethes grasping the hair and yanks her head back forcing her to look at her. Such an ugly creature, she scowls at her homely face. 

"My father will make sure you pay for your crimes." She seethes letting go of the girl's hair and letting her drop to the floor pitifully. 

"I hope you weren't attached to your head. Because you will lose it." She turns with a flourish her robes flaring behind her as she exits like an empress. 

No one would take anything that belonged to her. No one. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So if you can't tell, this takes place during the han dynasty. I did a bunch of research for this chapter however I am human and it's possible there might be historical inaccuracies. If I say anything that's wrong or culturally insensitive feel free to correct me and I will make sure to fix my mistakes :)
> 
> Also! Cookie reward! You made it to the end.


	4. Dreamland

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pulling down backstreets deep in your head  
> Slipping through dreamland like a tourist

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A little bit of Red Son's perspective at the beginning but then we swap to MK hope that's not confusing.

Pain. 

Nothing new. Red Son was familiar with it. One could say he and pain had gone beyond being mere acquaintances and ran in the same inner circles. He had experience being stabbed, thrown from great heights, chained, bound, set ablaze, and hit with great force. He knew what it was like to have bones broken and reset, he knew what it felt like to bleed and hurt and to hurt others and have to live with that.

And he even knew what it felt like to be hurt emotionally...

Yes, Red Son knew what it was like to be in pain. So it doesn't surprise him when he woke up with the intense pain that shot up his arms and spine that made his head spin. He breathed in through his nose and let it out through his mouth in an attempt to curb it.  His head is splitting and the light from his window is too bright for him so he shuts them to the needles of sun rays.  He feels his throat convulse in attempts to throw up from his migraine but there is nothing in his stomach so he dry heaves in his mouth pathetically as the waves of nausea crash over him repeatedly. 

He tries to sit up wanting to dry heave over the side of the bed, but as he sits up and puts pressure on his arm to lift himself up, black spots fade into his vision and he lets out a cry at the sudden and unexpected pain as he falls back against his pillow.  About five minutes pass of him swimming in his own pain before he attempts to open his eyes again. His vision is still swimming but the colors at least some are making semi-permanent shapes. 

Wait….

He turns his head to the right looking at a poster of Monkey king from an animated series. Definitely not a feature of his own room….but he knew exactly whose room it belonged to. 

He turns his head to his left, his face almost colliding with the owners of the room. 

No, it wasn’t possible. He shouldn't be here!! It had to be a dream.

And yet he was. He was in MK’s room, in his bed, three inches from his peaceful sleeping face. He was so close he could feel the breath of the noodle boys even breathing against his face. He finds himself holding his breath, his heart skipping a beat at how close he was to him. 

If he was in MKs room….that meant….at some point yesterday the boy had found him in his weakened state and brought him home. 

He frowns trying to recall his memories from last night but they slip through his grasp like sand through fingers. Maybe...maybe he can push through the pain, leave him here before he wakes up, and then he can avoid conversations he doesn't have the pain tolerance to have. 

He takes a deep breath in, bracing for the oncoming pain of lifting himself up, but before he can even get the energy to do so an arm is thrown over his neck, and MK lets out the sound between a grumble and a whimper. 

Red Son can feel the heat of Mk’s skin against his neck and it pins him to the bed easier than two tons of rock could. He wants nothing more to close his eyes, let the heat seep into his skin, and tend to his broken soul. To let the weight of his body fall backward into a safe comfortable slumber. 

To wait for MK to wake up, to watch the morning light creep slowly across his skin and glow around his hair like a soft halo. 

He wants it. He wants it so bad. But he can’t have it. MK grumbles stirring in his sleep and Red Son freezes wide-eyed 

Caramel eyes open to meet his, a deep espresso color with flecks of caramel and amber dance under his iris and MK licks his lips and blinks a few times as his brain boots up. He can spot the exact moment he's back online because they widen and follow the trail of his own arm that is slung over Red Son's neck like a child with a giant teddy bear. 

Tired caramel orbs become frightened doe eyes in an instant and it stabs Red through his chest hitting his soul and skewers him to the bed. How dare….how dare he be afraid of him 

He schools his hurt expression frowning at the monkey king's successor scowling at him, his fangs poking out from his lips as he spits these words. 

“Get. off.” 

\----------------------------------------------

_ “Grab my hand, it's okay!”  _

_ “This can NOT be in any way safe”  _

_ MK laughed, feeling oddly light as he pulled someone along with him. He’s not sure where they were going, or who was with him, he just knows he’s happy.  _

_ He tugs a body along, hand in hand across stepping stones across the stream.  _

_ “MK waiT!” he hears a splash and the hand pulls him down into the frigid water. He laughs despite the cold and being soaked.  _

_ He turns to the person who must have lost their footing but can’t focus on their face. Instead, they splash him and he splashes back. A water fight ensues and they are grappling for control and next thing he knows he’s atop a warm body. _

_ He wants to sink into that warmth. He wants it to envelop him and keep him there forever.  _

_ Lips press to his, in a warm kiss and he signs into it. It feels right, it feels warm. He wants more.  _

_ “******...” a name that he doesn't quite grasp, slips past his lips in a breathy gasp wanting more.  _

And then he wakes up. He’s awake now, his heart hammering in his chest but his eyes remain closed. His clothes aren’t wet but he feels oddly cold. What was that dream?? Why would he dream of kissing someone?  It was all foggy and the memory of the dream seemed to slip further away from the longer he laid there. It was just a dream. That is all it was. Yeah, just his brain messing with him. He opens his eyes fully and sighs ready to face the day. 

Instead, he faces a demon gaze. 

MK feels his blood run cold despite being under the inferno gaze of Red Son. The burning gaze of the brute pins him in place and also pushes him further than MK thought was possible with just a glare. He looks to where his arm is draped over his guest and gulps. 

“Get. Off.” the demon growls in a command that is married to a threat 

He jerks upwards, retracting his hand quickly like he had been burned, and if he left it there a moment longer it was entirely possible that's what would happen. 

“You're awake! I mean uh..it's good you're awake..maybe” he fumbles rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly, trying to push the dream he just had as far back as he can in his mind. The atmosphere was incredibly awkward and he felt like he was just adding fuel to the fire with his words. Pun not intended. 

“Why am I here?” the demon bites out halting MK in any other fumbling he might have stored up for this moment. 

“I uh….brought you back?” he watches the eyes of the demon slant at him accusingly in a squint. 

“And why...why the HELL would you do that?” he huffs out attempting to sit up fully with his own powers but only makes it to a sitting position before toppling forward. He would have landed face-first into the mattress if MK hadn't been expecting it and caught him. 

"Don't move, your injuries are pretty bad." He presses a hand to Red Son's bare chest pushing him gently back into his bed. He can feel the frantic heartbeat underneath his hand from the demon and it rubs something in his mind that he can't quite put a finger on.  Red Son goes easily falling back against the pillows of his bed with a huff. MK watches his dazed expression go in and out and it truly worries him. A few moments pass before he speaks again. 

"Water."

"Huh?" 

"Wa-ter. Now." he rasps out and MK jolts into action. 

"Oh r-right." MK dashes to his kitchenet and grabs a clean cup and fills it with water. He can feel the eyes of a predator on his back and the hairs of his neck stand to attention. The cup is filled and he also grabs some painkillers from the medicine cabinet, no doubt Red Son would be appreciative for the act. 

He brings the cup and bottle quickly to Red Son's side and kneels on the bed helping Red Son up into a sitting position, setting pillows up behind him. 

He offered two white pills to the demon and instead he snatched the bottle from him and tore the cap off the bottle. MK gasps when he sees the demon shake half the bottle into his mouth like it's candy and not pills, crunching the medicine between his teeth and swallowing dry. After that, he reaches for the cup in MK’s hand.  MK helps the demon drink, bringing the cup to his mouth and tilting his head up slightly to help the ease of passage of liquid.  Red Son gulps the drink greedily and MK watches his throat bob with the action, water spilling from the corners of his mouth as he does so. Mk can't help but trail the droplets that caress his throat and drop-down Red Son's bare chest. He averts his gaze, feeling oddly guilty for admiring the way the droplets sparkled there against his skin. 

When the water was gone MK retracted the cup and placed it on the bedside table. 

"So. Am I your prisoner now?" Red Son asked point-blank wiping his mouth clean from the water. MK shakes his head fervently back and forth, his hair swaying from the motion. 

"No! not a prisoner. A patient." MK rubs his hands together nervously in his lap. 

"Okay….why? Why bring me back? And where are my clothes? Am I wearing your dirty laundry??"

"Hey! I think I should ask some questions too ya know!" MK fires back, puffing his cheeks out. 

"How did you get so hurt? Why were you in the garbage? What kind of conditioner do you use?" He lists off his questions watching Red Son's eyes dart back and forth confused at his last question. 

"What fwa?!" Red Son sputters 

"I'm not answering any of those! Let me leave." He growls out trying to pull away from MK's support. 

"You can't leave!"

"Yes, I can. Watch me!"

"Fine." MK huffs pulling his hands back and letting Red Son drop face-first into his bed now that he lost his support systems. Red Son lands with a soft 'oof'

"If you can make it to the door on your own I'll let you leave." MK challenges and he watches Red Son squirm in place. 

"Fine." Huffing he grasps the sheets trying to pull himself forward. MK watches him slowly inch forward desperately wanting to reach the impossible goal of MK’s apartment door.  MK has to give him credit where credit is due. He makes it almost to the end of his bed before he gives up. His arms hanging off the side for a few minutes in defeat. Red Son lets out the longest-suffering sigh before speaking again. 

".....help me back onto the bed." He orders defeatedly and MK can't help the smile that spreads across his lips at the small victory. He hops off the edge of the bed and helps Red Son back into a sitting position. 

"So it's decided. You will stay here until you're better."

"Fantastic. The last place I ever want to be and the last person I want to be with." His eyes darted away from MK, his words practically whispered out rather than spoken. 

"Don't worry. I won't be here most of the day since I'll be…." He gasps sitting up as he scrambled off his bed. 

"Oh shoot! I have to work!" He pulls his shirt off finding a clean..we'll sort of clean one off the floor. New shirt, shoes, food for Red Son. 

He grabs a protein bar and throws it at Red Son and it hits him square in the forehead. MK would take the time to appreciate the comedy of his aim but he couldn't when he needed to find his phone and clock in.

Where was his phone? He needed his phone! 

"Where is that blasted phone!?" Mk picks up t-shirts and a stray comic looking under them for his device, he needed it for the GPS for deliveries and he couldn't afford to lose this one he just paid it off. 

"Maybe if your apartment was cleaner you could find it easier. '' Red Son comments behind him. MK runs his hands through his hair still searching. He gives up using his normal means to search and uses a tiny bit of his monkey kid powers. Hey, no shame in using them for non-life-threatening situations right?  His eyes open shining a bright glow and his entire vision is swept over with a golden hue. He can see every detail in his room and maybe Red Son was right and he should tidy up in here. He sweeps the room with his enhanced vision looking for his phone. 

"I think it's in its charging port" Red Son contributes and MK whips his head around with a wide smile ready to give thanks to the demon for finding his phone. 

"Than-" he cuts off a chill going up against his spine. It's just a shadow, only for a second that hangs off Red Son like a blanket draped over his shoulders. He rubs his eyes and it's gone. He must have imagined it because when he blinks it's gone. He drops the monkey king sight still slightly unnerved.

"Umm... thanks…" he grabs his phone from the charger and pockets it and snatches his jacket off the floor so he can dash to work before Pigsy kills him for being late. Again. 

He opens the door to leave and hesitates to look at the demon. 

"Umm.. stay here. Stay." He puts his hand out as commanding a dog to sit and Red Son raises a brow at him challengingly. 

Then MK slams the door and is off to work. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> the plot thickens and we see Red Son agreeing to stay with MK. surely nothing bad will come of this >:3


	5. Tangerine

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I'm beggin', hands, knees, please, tangerine  
> Come on back to me  
> You got what I need, tangerine, do this for me

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yall can have a chapter before Saturday, as a treat UwU

MK dashes down the stairs already hearing Pigsy coming up to wake him for the day. He meets him halfway in the stairwell. If MK had waited another minute chances are Pigsy would come on to him and his guest. He smiles sheepishly hoping he looked guilty for reasons other than keeping a demon in his room against his knowledge.

"Hey Pigsy, just uhhhh coming down to work!" He shimmies past the pigman so he could officially clock in. 

"Yeah and hurry up! I already got deliveries for ya." he grunts and MK changed into his work uniform, shedding his bright yellow jacket and trading it out for the white smock with a name tag that he leaves hanging on the hook near the entrance to the shop from the stairs.

"Sorry sorry!" He apologizes, already clocked in and taking the orders in his arms for deliveries. He was rushing, a weakness that everyone could point out at him if they knew him for about five minutes. And his weakness led to his downfall because one moment he's carrying three noodle orders and the next he is on the floor. Tripped over his own two feet. 

Soaked through and covered in three orders worth of food.

“Damint MK! I’ll have to re-make those orders” Pigsy scolds, helping up the boy who sheds noodles as he moves. 

“S-sorry Pigsy.” he stutters, picking a piece of garlic out of his hair in shame. Piggys sighs, seeming to take mercy on him and pull him into the back room where he stored most of his ingredients in bulk as well as some other necessary items to run the shop. 

“Come on, let's get you cleaned up, can’t have you getting a cold.” he pats MK on the back as they enter the secluded area where he could wash up. 

“Take your clothes off, I have a spare uniform set aside for this kind of stuff,” he grumbled, pushing back boxes and storage of extra bowls and menus. MK can tell Pigsy is mad but the pigman always knew when MK could take the scolding and when to reserve it. It's like he had a sixth sense to his emotions, always in tune to how much he could take, and for that MK was grateful. He was already on edge since he had to leave Red Son alone in his apartment on top of hiding it from Pigsy. 

He pulls his soaked uniform off, folding it in half and setting it aside, then off comes his undershirt which was equally soaked. He would have to keep his uniform buttoned up today. His back was to the pigman who finally retrieved the clean uniform for him from the top shelf. He turns around uniform in hand and the eyebrows raise in surprise and alarm. His jaw-dropping making a perfect ‘o’. 

“Whoa, kid! Where'd You get that one?” Pigsy asked from behind him and MK turned around oblivious to what he was asking. 

“Get what?” he asked, tossing his soaked under-shirt to the side and claiming the clean uniform to throw on. His pants were fine so he just needed a new shirt. Pigsy pointed to his back with a look of concern on his face. MK cranes his neck trying to see what Pigsy is referring to but can't get a good angle. The pigman sighs pulling out his phone and snaps a picture of his back and turns the phone around for him to look at. 

MK’s blood runs cold. 

A giant mass of spider-like veins spreading out from a single source at the base of his spine. A nasty scar that could only be described as one thing. 

Lightning. 

Or Lichtenberg scars. The delivery boy’s jaw drops at the view of his back. Sure he had a few scars here and there, some from battles, some from when he was young living on the streets. But in all his time fighting demons, training, and being homeless not once he can remember a time where he was struck by lightning. Such a widespread scar too meant it would have been bad. 

"So how'd ya get it?" Pigsy asked in a tone that MK knew to be secretly concerned but didn't want to admit it. 

"I uh...training or something.." he mumbled out zooming in on the base of the scar. It looked like it hit his spine dead center. Something like that….should have killed him. He shudders at the crawling of his skin from the implications. The shadow of a sensation goes all the way up his spine to the base of his neck like clawed fingers grasping his head and sinking their talons into him tightly. 

"You okay kid? If you need like a day off I'm su-"

"I'm fine!" MK smiles brightly at Pigsy handing back the phone to him quickly. He needs to work. He needs to focus and work and make sure Red Son gets better. 

"Better get started on those orders haha can't keep our customers waiting." He laughed nervously skirting around his boss and the subject at hand to the front of the store. Pigsy watched him escape to the front of his shop. He rubs his chin thinking and sends a quick text to Tang with a picture attached and a single question. 

\-------------------------

Lunch rush came and went and it was time for MK to take time for his break as things were winding down and thank goodness too because he didn't have time to grab breakfast out the door and so he was starving. Working for Pigsy had its perks. He got one free meal a day that he could eat when he wanted. 

So he grabbed his first bowl for the day, fixing it with some toppings before making an excuse to Pigsy about wanting to eat in his room for his break. Pigsy waved him off telling him to be on time and that was the end of that. 

Balancing a bowl of noodles he made his way back up the stairs to his apartment. He has to use his elbows' creativity to get back Into his apartment. He half expects to find Red Son gone. To find an empty bed with the demon having flown the coop as soon as MK shut the door. 

Instead, he actually finds the demon propped up against the pillows of his bed. The TV is playing some daytime show to his left. It was one MK was unfamiliar with but Red Son was watching with rapt interest, he looked oddly at peace, something he wasn’t familiar seeing with the tightly strung demon. His profile was illuminated by the sun coming through MK’s window. 

_ "I don't know why you watch that trash"  _

_ The figure on the bed shrugs. A coffee cup in hand.  _

_ "I like what they have to say." _

_ "None of it's real. it's all gossip" _

_ "I know. That's why I like it." A smirk on thin lips that draws him in and forward. He's curled into their arms quickly finding space under their chin and makes a home there.  _

"Are you going to come in or just stare at me all day?" Red Son interrupted his thoughts like a sledgehammer to a sandcastle. MK had to physically shake his head back and forth, gathering the stray grains of sand building up some coherent thought. 

"Uhh.. yeah sorry. I got some food for us to share." He holds the bowl out displaying his catch of the day to the unimpressed demon. He passes the tofu bowl to Red Son despite the lack of reaction, ready to share his lunch with him when his hand hesitates and he looks down into the broth with confusion.

The amber broth is something he is used to, he eats Pigsy's noodles every day for peat's sake. But accompanying the noodles is chives, mushrooms, sliced seaweed, and tofu. Toppings he normally would never pick for himself. 

MK liked beef or chicken in his noodles. 

Wait…

"Y-your….a vegetarian." He states, sounding more like a question, it felt like there was soup in his head, hot and thick filling his brain and obstructing...something from him.

"You're a vegetarian." He states again feeling more confident with the statement and he glances at the demon. Red Son is surprisingly emotionless, a brick wall that shares nothing. Not even irritation like he had suspected. MK frowns confused even more. 

"How did, how did I know that?" He asked as Red Son finally breathes in through his nose and adverts his gaze quickly. 

"Fool. Of course, I'm a vegetarian." He snatched up chopsticks quickly and started pulling long noodles out to enjoy. 

"Yeah, but how did I  _ know  _ that? Did you tell me?" He pushed and Red Son ignored him, continuing to slurp noodles and picking out tofu to enjoy. 

"I don't  _ KNOW _ how you know. By all accounts you shouldn't" He sighs out, halting his eating just long enough to scowl at MK. Yet underneath his eyes, MK could tell he was hiding something. How could one person's eyes be so expressive? He had only been here a day and MK could even tell he was being lied to. 

"Perhaps you have a brain cell knocking around in your empty head after all." He pokes MK’s forehead with his chopsticks repeatedly and he swats them away with his hand. 

"You don't have to be so mean to me when I brought you food  _ AND _ somehow got your order right" totally by accident or something but he was gonna take credit for it and use it for leverage if he could. 

"What? Does the noble hero need me to humble myself and offer my eternal thanks?" He smirks, leaning into MK’s space suddenly like a predator. 

"Oh THAnk yOU my DEAR savior for providing me with this DEliCIouSOU food." Every word held an odd inflection dripping in sarcasm, his soliloquy was accompanied with dramatic motions even going as far as to place a hand against his forehead in a fainting action. 

"Certainly I shall rethink my ways. I shall turn from my family and join the sides of the hero's" he ends with a deadpan, looking at MK with the most board mocking expression he had ever seen. 

"Okay okay I get it. Geeze such a drama queen." MK grumbles reaching for the chopsticks from Red Son who hands them over easily enough.

"You know. A single tofu bowl isn't gonna be enough to feed us both." The demon grouses watching MK fish out a mushroom and pop it into his mouth. 

"I know, I'm sorry. But if I asked for two bowls Pigsy would get suspicious and ask if Mei was upstairs." He pokes at a chunk of tofu in the broth wondering if he should save it for Red Son. He then jumps up, dropping the chopsticks into the bowl. 

"Wait! I have something else!" He excitedly runs to his cabinet of his kitchenet and opens one of them, pushing back past dried goods and spices, he pulls out a can of preserved tangerines in juice. It has a pop lid because he doesn't own a can opener and even if he did he probably couldn't find it in his mess of an apartment. 

He sets the can of tangerines next to the bowl proudly and smiles at Red Son who only peers over into the can suspiciously. 

"It's tangerines. Mei bought a bunch of canned fruit and vegetables because she says my diet is  _ 'not healthy' _ . " He accompanies his last words with quotation marks with his fingers. Red Son only snorts at the motion at least moderately amused by him.

"canned Tangerines and noodles. Two things that should probably not be served together. What an appropriate feast for us." He comments lightly sounding oddly hollow and then uses his bare hands to stick into the can and fish out a sliced tangerine. 

He pops it into his mouth and chews and MK joins him, fishing out his own sweet treat and pops it into his mouth. The juices burst beneath his teeth and splash against his tongue easily. He hums at the sweetness and fishes out another. 

"It's good." He comments between chews. "But I'll get us some more food tomorrow." He promised and Red Son only shrugs uninterested in MKs attempts at a conversation. 

"Don't bother, I'll be gone in a day or two. I heal faster than you mortals." He shoves another tangerine in his mouth and offers the can to MK who hesitantly takes one from him. 

"Oh...okay" MK fidget in place, his hands in his lap wringing together nervously. Red Son sighs out, throwing his head back dramatically. 

“What is it? I can practically hear you thinking from here.” he sets his chopsticks down and MK claims them for a few bites of the meal they shared. He needed the calories to get through the workday after all. 

“It’s just….what happens when you leave here?” He pokes at a floating piece of tofu, not really a big fan of it himself but claims it anyways and swallows it in one bite. 

“Like what happens next? Where do we go from here?” He looks at Red Son in the eyes watching his face light up slightly before it's schooled into a more emotionless expression as if he was putting up walls, but even with a concrete mask he carefully constructed he couldn't hide the eyes that still shone with something MK couldn't quite place. 

“I don't understand...what are you asking?” Red Son ever so slightly leaned forward in a way that could almost be interpreted as eager if MK didn't know any better. 

“Like….I’ll let you go. Then what? Are we just going to go back to fighting like nothing happened?” whatever eagerness that Red Son held evaporates, disappointment flashing across his face as he leans back into the propped pillows again. 

“Oh...that's what you mean,” he sighs looking to the ceiling almost deep in thought. 

“I suppose we...go back to how things were at the start. Hating each other and fighting to destroy each other's legacies.” he looks to MK again looking oddly remorseful at his words. 

“Is that what you want though?” 

“I never wanted this.” 

The point-blank sincerity in Red Son’s voice throws him for a loop. MK almost feels like he might fall off his bed from his lost footing. Even when he studies the man's face he can’t find any deceit hidden there, only sincerity in his words. Red Son breaks first looking away. 

“But that's what's going to happen. You let me go, forget this happened and all goes back to normal. That's the plan…” he looks to his hands and they tighten in front of him. 

“Okay….if that's what you want.” MK feels like he's missing something important like he's not picking up on a very obvious social cue that's looming over them like a shadow with talons. 

“I have to get back to work.” he takes the now empty bowl and chopsticks off his bed as well as the canned fruit which is mostly juice. He sets it on the counter of his kitchen to be cleaned and poured out later. 

“I’ll see you tonight?” 

“hmmp...Like I have a choice,” he grunts out, settling back into his place at the bed and flipping through the limited TV channels available. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hmmmm how did ya get that scar MK?


	6. Golden Antlers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> These creatures are vampires  
> They're killing by the night  
> They're falling from the dead trees  
> To sihouette your life

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! another chapter featuring the mysterious Li Hua, it's all connected I promise. 
> 
> also! as an added warning there is mention of starvation and dehydration ahead. you will see the fic's rating has gone up not only because of this but because as I was writing this week I noticed some extra things that would contribute to a higher rating. the tags are going to update as I go so as not to spoil anything major but just make sure to keep a heads up for it. I'll make sure to warn you ahead of every chapter. 
> 
> now without further ado, enjoy!

Li Hua pushed open the door to the cellar, light bursting through. The dirty dark place was no place for her, but a perfect place for a thieving little fox. She had decided against beheading her maidservant, it was such a mess anyways, and then she would be down a useful servant.

Instead, a little bit of discipline would be good. The empty cellar was not being used and was a perfect place to treat her servant to a lesson. They were constructing a new one since this one was too far from the kitchen that had been moved from the west side of the estate to the east.

No one came over here and therefore it was secluded and perfect. 

"How was your night spent down here?" She asked picking a piece of dust off her outfit, today it was a pale yellow, she had another date with Yingjie, to the theater of course, and had to look her best to impress him. 

"Learn your lesson yet?" She asked tilting her head to the side, her hair ornament chiming softly with the movement. The disgusting girl raises her head, it had been just two days without food or water and still, the brat held her head up in defiance, caramel eyes burning with hatred and disrespect. She didn't speak and Li Hua tusks under her breath. 

"Fine. Perhaps another night down here will teach you some respect and not to steal from me." She touched up her hair smoothing down a stray hair making sure she was nothing less than perfection. 

"Y-your cruelty will not go unpunished…" the handmaiden had the audacity to speak to her, the pathetic worm. She stomps over to the girl and yanks her head back from her matted hair. 

"Silence! You will learn respect! Even if you are down here a hundred nights." She throws the girl to the floor who yelps. She looks down at her in disdain.

"Perhaps. If I am feeling generous when I come back from my date I will bring you a single drop of water. But only if you beg." She laughs, throwing her gorgeous head back, her headdress tinkling lightly at the movement. She exits the cellar slamming the girl in the darkness of the deep. Unaware of the series of events she just put into place that would eventually lead to her downfall.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Li Hua is certainly a cruel person wouldn't you think? hopefully, she gets what she deserves.


	7. Tokyo Drifting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ooh, now you're lettin' go  
> Heart beatin' faster, feet pushin' on the floor

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, the title is Tokyo drift despite this taking place in China. That's just the title of the song I used for this chapter. Plz don't hate me 
> 
> warnings ahead! 
> 
> Red Son calls MK some degrading things and implies some sexual things as well. other than that ist just good old fashion angst.

“MK!!~” a hand wraps its way around his neck pulling him into a sudden and forceful hug with the strength that can only belong to one girl. 

“Hey Mei!” he greets back with a hug freely given to her. They pull apart after a second and she beams at him with a smile.

“You ready?” she hops in place excitedly. 

“Ready for what?” he asked, confused, taking off his uniform trading it for his signature yellow jacket, shouldering it on. His shift had just ended and he was about to head back up to Red Son to check on him and get him some dinner. Pigsy had some order returned and gave it to MK which he had in a to-go bag. It had meat in it but he figured he could eat that and leave the rest for Red Son.

“you said we could hang out yesterday remember silly?” MK’s stomach dropped. Oh yeah, he did say they would hang didn't he. His eyes dart to the stairs to his apartment trying to find a way to back peddle without sounding suspicious. 

“Uhhhhh….y-yeah great! Let me just grab my jacket.” he points over his shoulder before dashing up the stairs to his apartment. Mei watches him confused. He clearly was wearing his jacket? Unless he is just being forgetful again. She puts her hands on her hips and shakes her head smiling fondly at him.

Meanwhile, one flight of stairs up MK slammed the door, his heart beating erratically. Red Son greets him with the same enthusiasm as a house cat. 

“Great. Your back. Please tell me you brought more food..” he complained, still flipping through the TV boredly not meeting MK’s frantic gaze.

“Well good news for you. I’m leaving to hang out with Mei.” Red Son finally looks at him wide-eyed like he wasn’t expecting this development. he brings the baggie over to Red Son and plops it onto the side table of the bed. 

“Food for you. I have to go before she suspects anything.” 

“Yes of course. choosing her over me. Business as usual.” he grumbles out changing the channels a little more aggressively a frown sinking into his face. MK notes it but doesn't have time to dwell on the weird behavior or choice words as he's already exiting the apartment and dashing back down the stairs. 

“Haha, sorry. Turns out I was wearing my jacket.” he laughs nervously and Mei rolls her eyes at him, easily buying his forgetfulness. 

“Well come on then ARCADE!” she hoists her arms into the air excitedly chanting arcade over and over as they exit the closing shop. MK turns to look at the window of his apartment to only see the flickering lights of the TV before turning away to climb on the back of her bike. 

\-----------------------

GAME OVER 

The game flashed across the cabinet game as MK’s character dies and loses to Mei once again. 

“Man your head is really not in the game today. Normally you kick my ass at ultra maid ninja.” she teases nudging his shoulder a bit playfully. He nods feeling a little out of it.

“Yeah. I think I might play a different game if that's cool, but you keep playing, I'm sure someone will challenge you in no time,” he suggests and Mei shrugs, she seems cool with the idea, sometimes at the arcade, they would separate to play a few of their personal favorite one player games then meet up again for some vs stuff. 

“That's cool, I think I'm gonna grab a drink anyways,” she says pushing away from the machine and stretching her fingers out. MK and her part ways and he wanders a bit through the brightly colored machines letting the sound effects of power-ups and flashing lights wash over him. 

For some reason he’s drawn to a crane game, he's never been super interested in them in the past but this one just calls to him for some odd reason. He wanders to it looking at the plush items and other trinkets inside. Nothing he really wanted or needed….wait!!   
  


He pushes his face against the glass at what he spies. A limited-edition Monkey King Key chain that was recalled because kids kept swallowing them!! He had to have it. He digs into his pocket retrieving his last few tokens. Should he really waste them on a rigged machine?

_ “It's totally rigged you know.” _

_ “Yeah but that's what makes it fun when you actually win something.” _

_ “You will waste your tokens.”  _

_ “Shut up and help me win something!”  _

He shakes his head and the lights and noises suddenly a bit too much for him. The weird daydream assaulting him and confusing him, he looks to his right expecting someone to be there but finds no one there, just an empty space making him feel like he was missing something. 

He sticks the token into the machine trying to distract himself. He carefully guides the crane over the prize with his tongue sticking out. 

_ “Left. no I said LEFT” _

_ “Your left or mine?” _

_ “It's the same left! Here let me do it”  _

He shakes his head again wanting the daydreaming to stop so he could just win the stupid prize. The claw hangs over the keychain where he thinks it will clasp it and claim it. He takes a deep breath, taking the leap, and letting the claw descend with a push of the button. 

It lowers...closes. Rises.

YES! He got it! He whoops in victory as the prize is carried over to the drop and lets it out into the collection bin. He hastily grabs his prize and holds it up in the light. It's a simple thing, a monkey king head plated in gold paint. Cheap but incredibly satisfying. 

“What a fun little trinket….” someone whispers beside him. he whirls around startled by the additional presence only to find.

He's alone. He looks left and right feeling the hairs on the back of his neck stand. No one is around him and he doesn't see anyone walking from his direction. Just kids and teens playing games noisily. It feels like the equivalent of missing a cue on stage or forgetting a line and waiting for something to happen to move the plot along. He shivers rubbing his arms feeling really cold all of a sudden. 

He looks down at the key chain in his hand smiling back at him. 

“I’m seriously losing my mind.” he sighs out 

“Losing what?”

“AH!” he whirls around to see an equally startled Mei with two sodas in hand

“were you here a few moments ago?” he asked, his eyes darting around paranoid. She takes a long sip of her soda handing him the second one. 

“I just got here man. You okay?” she asked, taking another obnoxious sip of her drink. 

“Yeah….just a bit jumpy I guess.” he pockets his prize quickly still feeling the talons of someone's eyes digging into the back of his neck. Mei nods in understanding still looking him over with concern 

“Up for another game? Or you want to head out?” she asked and MK melted under her concern. 

“Actually yeah, kind of tired and I'm almost out of tokens anyways." she nods, tossing her soda away in a trash bin ready to bounce at a moment's notice. 

“I’ll give you a ride back.” 

“Thanks, Mei”

  
  


\---------------------

It had to be here. He knew it was!!! Red frantically searched. He had been here long enough, getting picked up by MK when he was hurt was not part of his plan. None of this was part of any of his plans, but since he was left alone in the delivery boy's apartment he was going to take advantage of it. 

Staying with MK the past few days had….opened his eyes to a few things. No matter how much he wanted it he was never getting his old life back, and instead of fighting futility against the winds of fate, he was going to grab fate by the throat and choke it out on his own terms. He would find the last thing that connected them. Destroy it. And make sure every shred of evidence was gone forever.

Maybe then he could finally move on after this month of suffering. 

He tried the bedside table first, opening the drawer and digging around in there. He found almost EVERYTHING but what he was looking for. 

He swore under his breath slamming the drawer closed. It had to be here. He just needed to keep looking and hope MK doesn't catch him.

  
  


\----------

Thankfully Mei offered to drive MK home, the day's light had waned to just twilight colors, the city street lights flickered on casting an eerie glow that unsettled MK from his time in the arcade. 

Mei dropped him off and he said goodnight quickly wanting to get back into the safety of his apartment flat. He sighs feeling his shoulders sagging when he remembers he has a patient in his bed which means no comics and music till he passes out. He will need to check over Red Son's wounds, probably clean them again, and swap out the bandages. He hoped he had enough left over to rewrap them.

He entered his apartment with an expected amount of enthusiasm closing the door behind him and double-checking the lock. His paranoia reading its ugly head. 

Red Son is surprisingly still here, he half expected the demon to escape in his absence. He also is surprisingly relieved that he didn't. He's propped up on his belly, still watching tv, not that MK can blame him with his limited options of entertainment.

"Leave his ass, Veronica! You deserve better!" The demon shouted at the TV making MK flinch, either he hadn't seen him enter or was electing to ignore him like a spoiled cat angry at its owner for leaving him alone all day.

It's only when MK huffs and blocks Red Son’s view of the TV does he acknowledge his presence 

"Oh, your back? Did you bring some more food? I want ice cream." He demanded refusing to look at him yet 

MK looked to the TV playing trashy talk shows that always ended in a paternity test or a fight, his gaze drifted to the sulking Red Son and then finally pondered his request for ice cream. All three were connected somehow and he scratched the top of his head until it clicked. 

"Red Son….are you going through a breakup right now?" He asked, watching the demon stiffen under his words. He seemed tripped up before he inflates and speaks. 

"What nonsense are you on?!" He hisses out but his eyes stay glued to the TV, MK has a good hunch he's no longer watching Veronica's plight. 

"I mean, the sulking, the daytime tv and trashy talk shows, the request for ice cream. It's all textbook examples of the breakup blu-" He's grabbed violently and shoved to the bed before he can even finish his train of thought, Red Son on top of him, pinning his arms above his head and straddling his waist to keep him from moving. 

"Listen here  _ hero _ you better think carefully of the next words that leave your mouth because they very well could be your last.'' something rumbles in Red Son's chest and it reminds MK of the sound of a tiger before it strikes. Red leans in a few inches from MK’s face, his fangs poking out in a predatory manner. 

"You don't know what it's like to be me. you will  _ never  _ know what it's like to be me. I've never been loved and I'll never have love again." His grip tightens around MKs wrist and he hisses at the pain, his heart beating out of his chest feeling like a frantic hummingbird stuck in a cage made out of his chest.

"You will  _ never  _ know what I lost, you can't begin to comprehend what I'll never get back." Red Son's face is so close, close enough to take a bite out of him if he chooses to do so, close enough to rip him apart with his teeth. The expression of anger and sorrow battle for dominance on the demon's face. 

"You have  _ always _ been loved, everyone around you adores  _ precious little MK _ . Even before you got the staff everyone  _ fawned _ over you." His words dripped in sarcasm, the demon's eyes pouring out his disgust that burned like acid on MK’s skin. He squirms trying to break free but Red Son pins him harder.

"But then when you became the city's  _ hero? _ I bet men and women were throwing themselves at you. Love freely offered to the handsome hero." He smirks chuckling in a way that felt degrading to MK. He hated this, he wants Red Son off him NOW 

"I bet you keep a different person's bed sheets warm every night. I'm sure even to the dragon girl you whore yourself ou-"

SLAP

MK’s hand stung with the impact but he got some sick satisfaction from successfully wrenching his hand free long enough to shut the demon up. Red Son's eyes are wide from…something. Not shock at being hit, something else. Like he had been slapped awake and just now was catching up with what his body was doing without him. He reaches up and touches his cheek where he was struck, taking advantage of his loosened grip MK wrenched his other hand free.

MK pushes Red Son off him making sure to give a good shove to his gut as petty revenge before retreating off the bed and landing on his butt. Red Son touches his face where MK hit him as if he can't believe that just happened. MK doesn't stick around for Red Son's brain and anger to catch up. He dashes to his bathroom slamming the door shut and locks it tightly. 

His heart is beating frantically in his chest and he slides to the floor against the door covering his mouth as he tries to muffle his sobs wanting to break free from his mouth. 

His heart ached, stabbed right through by Red Son's untrue and cruel words. Is that how Red Son saw him? He looked at him like some easy man who would sleep with anyone and took advantage of his hero status???

He hunched over himself pulling his knees to his chest sucking in a breath and letting it out in an attempt to calm himself. Instead, he breaks down crying. Sobbing and shaking at how dirty he felt. Even if what Red Son said wasn't true he didn't want anyone to look at him like that and think those things. 

MK laid down against the smooth cool tiles letting it seep into his skin as he cried. 

He fell asleep there, tear stains on his face and all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *waits nervously for the comments to come after me with pitchforks and torches* 
> 
> in my defense your honor, I am here to break people. XD

**Author's Note:**

> This is how the conversation went with my friend when I told them about this WIP 
> 
> “You should finish little one before starting more stories”
> 
> “Oh you're totally right. I should do that” 
> 
> And then I didn’t XD I’m sorry PenWoman
> 
> If you also can't tell, each chapter is gonna be based on a Glass Animal song and their entire track from Dreamland inspired this story. hope you enjoy it!


End file.
